Fence Posts

Yesterday was wonderfully warm, so I drove to Bethel Beach for a brief visit. On the left side of the road leading to the beach is a fence line I've always admired.  

Although it isn't easy to see in these pictures (at least not on my screen, but then again my eyesight is fading fast, so the screen isn't entirely to blame), there is barbed wire attached to these posts.

In the shots above and below, a pine tree has grown around the wire.

Below it's easier to see.

This isn't far from the barn I talked about in (click here) this post.

Those two in the foreground are posts. (Wire hangs from the one
on the left.) Standing in the middle further back, a dead pine tree
blends in well, looking as weathered and worn as the posts.

If you cannot see the barbed wire, click on the image to enlarge.
I don't think it will enlargen enough for me to see it, but I know it's
there.  Also, enlargen is a word. It was just invented, right here on
this blog.

There is another fence line on the left
headed down towards those pine trees.

You can see it better here.

Are you still awake? Or did my talking about an invisible fence that looks like a bunch of dead trees in the middle of a swamp cause your head to drop backwards and your eyes to slam shut?

I don't blame you. It's just that I'm so easily amused, I could talk about stuff like this forever.

(Even if I'm not quite sure what I'm talking about.)

In other more interesting news, my daughter's last basketball game is tonight at King William.  The long drive will be well worth it to see them (hopefully) beat King William and finish their season with a perfect record.

I can't wait.

Have a great day.

JV Basketball. Again.

Last night in the last home game of the season, the Mathews High School JV girls beat rival Middlesex in one of the higher scoring games of late:  37-14.

I don't know what is wrong with me, but I get so involved in these games that you would think I was out there on the court.  I am physically and emotionally drained.  Completely.

Also?  I get cotton mouth for about the first half.

I'm not talking about the cottonmouth moccasin that frequents our shorelines.  I am talking about the condition that some weird people get due to nervousness,  hormonal imbalance stress, and anxiety.

When I played high school basketball, back when people drank out of garden hoses and this other ancient relic of a contraption known as a water fountain, I chewed Gatorade gum to help with the cotton mouth I'd get before every game.  But I was a player and had every right to be riled up and a little nervous.

A healthy dose of adrenaline helps you play better.

But as a spectator?  Cotton mouth?

It's happened for almost every single game this season.  By the second half it goes away.  (Not coincidentally, the second half is usually when we play our best.)

Last night against Middlesex, however, we came out strong and stayed that way for the most part.  Sure there were sloppy passes, balls that would not drop in the bucket, some missed foul shots. A technical called against us.  A few balls slammed down on the court in anger.  A few "out of the ref's vision" pushes.

But hey. It's a JV team. We can't expect perfection even though one in our midst physically feels pain when they turn over the ball.

This team cannot be beat on defense, though, and luckily we started pressing right out the gate.  Usually Coach Tommy only uses the press in dire situations, such as when I am about to go into cardiac arrest because the game is so close.

This game, however, after we made the first bucket, we started pressing.  And it worked.

Oh, how it worked.

Anyway, the girls have one more game Thursday night at King William.  If they win that game, they will have a perfect, undefeated season.

It doesn't get much more perfect than undefeated.

This edition of Mathews High School JV Sports Synopsis brought to you by one MHS Has Been who puts as much physical energy into spectating as some of the girls do on the court.

Just ask anyone who sits next to me.  (That would be Mr. Junie on my right or my mother and father to my left, all of whom cringe every time I jump up and down hollering. Oh, and the Moughons.  And the Callises. They cringe also.)

The End.

Snow

A Chesapeake Bay Son-Daughter Collaborative Masterpiece

Thursday morning we received a dusting of snow, but Friday afternoon we got what I would consider our first major snowfall of the season.

Unfortunately, it didn't last.

However, it lingered long enough for Son and Daughter to fasten a sled to the Gator and go zigzagging at high speeds all over the yard-- giving a nervous mother all the makings of a breakdown.

Nobody was hurt, unless you count my few frazzled nerves.

The tire tracks in the snow above (in my front yard) were from the Gator/sled event.

The snow began Friday at about 3:00.  I was working in Williamsburg, and as soon as I saw how quickly it was sticking to the roads, I left.

The Colonial Parkway was already covered by the time I made it there.

Route 17 traffic moved very slowly.

A skim of ice on Millers Cove

I passed several accidents and almost became a participant in one myself.  Coming down the hill just before Hodges and Bryant in Gloucester Court House, I tried to slow down, but my brakes locked up on me. I took my foot off, but the brake lights on the truck in front of me kept getting closer and closer.

Fortunately there was nobody in the next lane, and I was able to maneuver over there to avoid a disaster.

Route 14, the next to the last leg of my journey, was The Worst. Nobody was going over 15 miles per hour except, perhaps, for the man standing beside his overturned jeep on the edge of the woods. He didn't appear to be injured, but the Jeep didn't look so hot. He had to have been going fairly fast to make it as far off the road as he did.

My hour-long commute was almost two and a half hours that day. But I made it home safely, and my car wasn't turned upside down on the side of the road.

So there's that.

More slush around the dock.

Our cove off of Queens Creek, which back in the 1970s would freeze so solid my sisters and I could walk clear across it, has sported a thin film of slush for the past several days.

I don't think we'll ever see it freeze like that again.

These got a good workout this weekend.
I even wore them in Food Lion once.  

Although we didn't receive as much snow as I would have liked, we did have one day of a two hour commute and a near accident a good coating of snow, enough to build a silly snowman and slide around on a sled.

And enough to make it perfectly acceptable for me to wear zebra boots into the grocery store.

(Not that I needed an excuse.)

Dusting

My back yard Thursday morning.

The title of this post refers to the light snow we received Thursday morning and not to the household chore I despise.

(For the record, there is not one single household chore I do not despise. I do, however, love all types of snow, even if it's only light.)

It was my day off from work, and the Chesapeake Bay Children had no school. After a blissful morning that included sleeping well past my normal time, I spent the day cooking--homemade turkey vegetable soup; Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes, cookies, etc.

We ate well.

(By the way, in my opinion Salisbury steak is just a fancy word for hamburger with gravy and onions.  However, it does sound better than hamburger with gravy and onions.  Still, to call that steak is a bit of a stretch.  Poor Man's Steak would be a better label.)

The Thursday night basketball game against West Point was cancelled due to schools being closed.  The girls play tonight/Friday at West Point assuming we don't get more snow, which they are calling for Friday afternoon.  If that game is cancelled we play Saturday night. The previously scheduled Saturday game over on the Eastern Shore has been cancelled.

(If you don't understand the above paragraph, don't worry.  I barely do either.)

Personally I am hoping for lots and lots of snow, much more than a dusting.  We shall see.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend.

Canada Geese

Since I've not taken any new photos, I thought I'd look at some that have been queued up in my Drafts folder and found these.

To be honest, I thought I'd already posted these and for all I know I did.  But in the bizarro world I live in, a bad memory has its advantages.

If I don't remember posting these photos, then I didn't post them.  But if by some chance I did post them, I don't care, because I don't remember. I'm using them again.

Circular logic, anyone?

So, to recap:

• I may or may not have posted these before.
• Regardless of the answer to the above, I'm posting them again because I got nuthin' here are pictures of Canada geese near Aarons Beach.
• Chesapeake Bay Woman's memory worsens by the day.
• Part of this is due to the stress of having to endure her daughter's basketball games, all of which have been too close for comfort.  But they are still undefeated.
• Part of it is due to Son beginning to talk about college and wanting to go visit some. DC and NYC were mentioned.  (He's already visited my alma mater UVA several times.)
• When did I become old enough to have a son looking at colleges?
• DC and NYC?
• Serenity now.
• Happy Birthday, Chesapeake Bay Father!
• (He doesn't know how to turn on a computer, or, as he would call it, a flaptop. His name for Twitter is Tweeter and then of course there's the other oldie but goodie, SpaceBook. He calls texting faxing.  I dare not ask what word he uses for faxing. Dare not.)
• Happy Birthday anyway, CBF.
• Have a great day, all.

Low Tide

These past several weekends have been busy, what with basketball games, birthdays, out of town visitors and evenings out with friends.

As a result, I've not had a chance to go on a decent photography adventure, at least not since I went trudging through the swamp in zebra boots a while back.

These were taken down Redart (Trader backwards) on my way home from the grocery store yesterday.

(By the way, the only place I go these days is to work, basketball games, and the grocery store. It feels like I'm buying groceries every single day of the week.  Who is doing all this eating? It's not like I'm feeding a family the size of the Waltons, there's just the three of us for heaven's sake.)

I hope to sneak in a tour around town for new photos later this week.

In other news, we are bracing for an Arctic blast.  No snow (unfortunately, because if it's going to be cold there may as well be snow in my opinion) but bitter temperatures made worse by the wind chill.

I can't wait for spring.

The Weekend

These are a few weeks old, taken from Aarons Beach.

The sand there has been pushed up into the marsh
during various storms.  The beach is definitely shifting.

The weekend was busy but good.

Daughter's basketball team remains undefeated after barely pulling off another win Saturday night. They won by only one point in a very low scoring game, 21-20. It was absolutely excruciating to watch, and my throat is raw from screaming.

(Poor Mr. Junie Crosby, who sat next to us, probably still has ringing ears from all the commotion. Ann Marie, your father witnessed these antics from the other side of the court.  He can no longer say we don't do enough cheering.)

My mother and I have sufficiently embarrassed the county my father with our hollering and jumping up and down and what not, which includes stomping on the bleachers to (in theory) intimidate the opposition.

We I can't help it.

And they won! So all the embarrassment is well worth it.

Actually my mother and I are superstitious and believe that our antics helped propel the team to victory.  It all started in the Middlesex game when our bleacher thumping marked the point in the game where the tables turned and we gained control of the scoreboard.

Things have gotten progressively uglier/better (depending on whether you're asking my father or me) ever since.

There's another game at 5:30 tomorrow at home and one at 6:00 Thursday at West Point.

(Big Hair Envy, do you want to meet up? We could reminisce about the 1980-ish tournament we played in Back in the Day.)

***

After Saturday's game I went to a friend's birthday party and proceeded to laugh and laugh and laugh at all the stories told by some of my lifelong Mathews friends.

***

Today is a federal holiday, so I am in hog heaven enjoying a rare Monday off.

Life is good.

How was your weekend?

Zebra Boots

It's been raining since December every single day this week, and they're calling for snow tonight.


So I thought I'd put up these last few pictures of the sunny day at Bethel Beach when Waterman JP and I trudged through swamp the marsh and water to get to the old barn that hides back there.

Speaking of trudging through swamp the marsh, I finally retrieved the zebra print boots from my car.  Since it was raining and has been since December I needed them to take my dog for his walks through the flooded yard.

So here they are.

Zebra boots and my leopard print hat.
(Note, I've not worn them together yet 
but intend to if we get snow.)
Baby Sis painted the picture on the wall.

Middle Sis painted the three pictures behind the boots.

Personally, I am hoping we get tons of snow.  However, they say whatever we do get will melt by tomorrow.

Rain, snow, sleet, whatever.  My zebra boots and I are ready.

Bring it.

Have a fantastic weekend.

Hay Rake

Aside from yesterday's barn, another treasure hides in the swamp

marsh near Bethel Beach.

This.

If you weren't looking for it, you'd easily miss it.

It blends in perfectly with the surroundings.

And yes, I was still wearing the zebra print boots while taking these, even though we were out of the standing water.

I'll try to get some shots of the boots tomorrow or Friday.  I'm just returning from a road trip for work, and as I type this the boots are still in the back of the car....

Speaking of those boots, click here for a most amusing post by Deltaville Jamie that includes several hilarious illustrations.

Last but not least, and entirely unrelated to zebra print boots, check out my mother's humorous sketches on  her latest post here.

The Barn

When my friend Waterman JP texted me to say he wanted to show me some new and unusual places that required boots to get to, I knew then and there that there was potential for danger adventure.

So I donned my zebra print boots purchased on clearance they couldn't give the things away from Fashion Bug in Gloucester and happily drove to meet him at the designated spot.

I would show a picture of the zebra print boots except they're still in the car. By the way, so are the beach chairs I took on vacation last July.  I just haven't gotten around to moving them yet.  I have my priorities.  How much do you want to bet those zebra print boots stay in the back of the car until the year 2045 my next summer vacation? (Of course the beach chairs will stay there until then. It only makes sense.)

Anyway.

JP drove me to Bethel Beach, which of course I've visited millions of times.  He pulled over at a spot I was familiar with because there's an old shed back there that I check on now and then.

Just to make sure it's OK.

But where he was taking me was further back off the road.

And required boots to get to.

Zebra print boots were not necessary, any color will do, but they certainly make trouncing through a swamp the marsh even more fun. And stylish, because Chesapeake Bay Woman is nothing if not a slave to fashion.

(Pardon CBW --who has not purchased new clothes for herself in years--as she howls with laughter at the thought of being a slave to fashion.)

ANYWAY...

We waded stomped through calf-high water for miles and miles a bit until we arrived at a rice paddy this beautiful barn, hiding behind some heavy brush.

A barn in the middle of a swamp marsh.

It's important for me to mention that JP belongs to a hunt club which rents this land, therefore to the best of my knowledge we were not trespassing.

One in our midst is, however, guilty of wearing zebra print rubber boots that are still in the back of her car.

Stay tuned for a few more photos from this excursion.

No zebras were harmed in the making of my boots this blog post.